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The Long Island Nets, the NBA G League affiliate of the Brooklyn Nets, have requested waivers on guard Isaiah Wright.
Wright was acquired from the available player pool on Nov. 16 to replace Long Island guard Josh Gray while he played for USA Basketball in the FIBA World Cup Qualifying Games. In two appearances with the Nets, Wright recorded five points, two rebounds and two steals in 29 minutes total.
Miami Heat center Bam Adebayo suffered a torn Ulnar Collateral Ligament in his right thumb against Denver on November 29 and will undergo surgery this weekend.
A timetable on his return will be provided post-surgery.
Adebayo has started in all 18 games he has appeared in this season and averaged 18.7 points, 10.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.11 steals and 32.9 minutes while shooting 51.9 percent from the field.
Per the South Florida Sun Sentinel, “the most versatile element of the Miami Heat lineup, the player the defense is designed around and a fulcrum for the offense, is expected to be sidelined for six weeks…. The other two centers on the Heat roster are veteran Dewayne Dedmon, who is expected to start in place of Adebayo, and rookie Omer Yurtseven, who has received only nominal playing time to this stage.”
The Milwaukee Bucks yesterday signed guard Javonte Smart to a Two-Way contract.
And in a related transaction, the Bucks waived two-way guard Justin Robinson.
Smart (6-4, 205), appeared in five games (all starts) with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League this season and averaged 22.0 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 35.5 minutes per game while shooting 49.4% from the field and 39.6% from three. After going undrafted in the 2021 NBA Draft out of LSU, the 22-year-old played in six NBA Summer League games with the Heat before appearing in five of Miami’s preseason contests where he averaged 8.8 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 18.1 minutes per game.
A 2021 Second Team All-SEC selection, Smart averaged 16.0 points, 4.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.3 steals per game and led the SEC in three-point field goal percentage (.402) in his final season with the Tigers. In three seasons at LSU, the Baton Rouge native appeared in 93 games, making 76 starts, and averaged double figures in scoring each season.
Smart will wear No. 6 with the Bucks.
Originally signed to a Two-Way contract on Sept. 15, Robinson appeared in 17 games with the Bucks this season and averaged 2.8 points and 1.2 assists in 11.6 minutes per game.
The Milwaukee Bucks yesterday signed free agent center DeMarcus Cousins.
“DeMarcus is incredibly talented and his size, toughness and experience will help us,” said Bucks General Manager Jon Horst. “He will provide added depth to our front court rotation and we look forward to working him into our system.”
Cousins, 31, is a 10-year NBA veteran whose recent seasons have been a struggle. His career averages are excellent: 20.4 points, 10.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 1.2 blocked shots in 606 career regular season games for the Kings, Pelicans, Warriors, Rockets and Clippers.
The fifth overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft, Cousins most recently played in 41 games (11 starts) last season with Houston (25 games, 11 starts) and the Los Angeles Clippers (16 games), combining to average 8.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 17.4 minutes per game.
Cousins was selected to four All-Star games while a member of the Sacramento Kings (2015-17) and New Orleans Pelicans (2018) and was named to the All-NBA Second Team in 2015 and 2016. He was a gold medal winner for the United States in the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup, as well as the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. He reached the playoffs twice (2019, Golden State, and 2021, LA Clippers) during his career, but did not play in the 2019-20 season due to injury.
Cousins will wear No. 15 with the Bucks.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) confirms Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard with lower abdominal tendinopathy, it was announced today by president of basketball operations Neil Olshey.
Lillard will continue his recovery protocol and be re-evaluated in 10 days.
Through 20 games (all starts) this season, Lillard is averaging 21.5 points (39.7% FG, 30.2% 3-PT, 91.1% FT), 4.0 rebounds, 7.8 assists and 35.7 minutes for the Trail Blazers.
The Lakers, who are still finding their way this season, will be without LeBron James for hopefully just a very brief while. Via the Los Angeles Times:
LeBron James has entered the NBA’s COVID-19 health and safety protocols and will miss the Lakers’ game tonight against the Sacramento Kings, the team announced.
According to NBA rules, vaccinated players, like James, enter the protocols either after a positive test result or after inconclusive test results. According to the protocols, a vaccinated player can return if he tests negative for the virus on consecutive tests 24 hours apart or if it’s been 10 days without symptoms.
And from the Orange County Register:
While the Lakers did not officially say what triggered the action, ESPN reported that James is expected to miss multiple games, implying that the Lakers star has tested positive for COVID-19. Players and staffers can also enter protocols for a close encounter with someone who has tested positive.
At the very least, it means that James missed Tuesday night’s game at the Sacramento Kings – and will perhaps miss much more time.
“Obviously it’s a huge loss. It’s disappointing,” Coach Frank Vogel said. “We just want the best for him right now. That’s where our thoughts are. And we have a next-man-up mindset.”
Cleveland Charge center Tacko Fall has been named NBA G League Player of the Week for games played 11/22 through 11/28. Cleveland won both of their contests last week where Tacko averaged 22.0 points on .810 shooting from the field with 14.0 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 0.5 steals in 28.0 minutes per game.
In the first win in Sioux Falls on Saturday, Fall hit all 10 of his FG attempts in scoring 22 points while grabbing 11 rebounds with a steal and a block in the 115-111 victory. To help secure the two-game sweep over the Skyforce, Tacko scored another 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting with a season-high 17 boards and swatting three blocks in Sunday’s 113-110 double overtime victory.
Jonas Valanciunas went insane from three-point range yesterday. Via ESPN.com:
Jonas Valanciunas wasn’t exactly a marksman when he entered the NBA in 2012. In fact, in his first five seasons in the league, he went 1-of-4 from 3-point range.
But those days are long gone.
Valanciunas hit his first seven 3-pointers on Monday night — all in the first half — as he helped lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 123-104 win over the LA Clippers.
The 6-foot-11, 265-pound bruiser has slowly started to add the three-point shot to his game since 2017, but he’s never had a night like Tuesday when he scored a career-high 39 points to go along with 15 rebounds.
Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Joe Harris underwent arthroscopic surgery today on his left ankle.
The procedure, performed by Dr. Martin O’Malley at the Hospital for Special Surgery, involved the removal of a loose body. Harris has missed the past six games since injuring the ankle on Nov. 14 at Oklahoma City.
An estimate return date for Harris isn’t known yet.
Harris currently ranks second in the NBA in 3-point shooting (.466) while averaging 11.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in 30.2 minutes per contest in 14 games this season.
Atlanta Hawks guard Bogdan Bogdanovic, who left during the second quarter of last night’s game vs. New York with an ankle injury, underwent an MRI earlier today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex. The MRI confirmed a right ankle sprain. Following a period of rest and rehabilitation, his status will be updated in approximately two weeks.
Hawks forward Cam Reddish, who also left last night’s contest vs. New York in the second quarter with a wrist injury, underwent an MRI earlier today at the Emory Sports Medicine Complex, which confirmed a left wrist sprain. His status will be determined by his response to daily treatment.